Fifty-eight years had passed since Napoleon seized Malta Island. Throughout those fifty-eight years, the Order had drifted from place to place without even a decent headquarters. After all, fine aristocratic estates did not consist of merely nine mu of land.
"Gather everyone. I have an important announcement to make."
Yet the moment Grand Master Filippo voiced his idea, someone poured a basin of cold water over it. The one doing so was Henry Baltman, a member of the Order from France.
When Napoleon attacked Malta Island, many members of the Order from France had chosen to betray it. Without those insiders, the French would likely have had to put in a little more effort to take Malta Island.
Henry Baltman's ancestors, however, had not chosen betrayal. But neither did he hold the slightest goodwill toward the Austrian Empire, given that France was being suppressed by it.
"Don't celebrate too soon. You should remember that before the Congress of Vienna, our forebears had hoped for the same thing. Yet those damned people would not even allow us through the door."
That basin of cold water instantly extinguished the Order's enthusiasm. Still, they hoped the Austrian Empire's new emperor might be foolish enough to grant their request.
It was not that Metternich had not wanted to let them enter, but the British opposed it. Given the Austrian Empire's strength at the time, it could only yield.
There was a tiny bit of religious influence involved, but in truth, it was more about the strategically vital Malta Island.
The Knights of Malta were indeed a useful card to play. Malta Island's strategic position was immensely important, directly affecting control over the central Mediterranean.
Any great power seeking to control the central Mediterranean could not bypass Malta Island, and as technology advanced, Malta Island